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DEMOPOLIS, ALABAMA. 



A PAMPHLET 



DESCRIPTIVE OF ITS LOCATION, 



TOGETHER WITH 



AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION 



OF ITS 



SURROUNDINGS. 



Its Social, Commercial, Educational and 
Agricultural Advantages. 



ISSUED UNDER THE AUSPICIES OF THE CITY 

COUNCIL. 



SELMA, A LA.: 

FROM THE PRESSES OF THE SELMA PRINTING CO. 

1887. 



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Class V ^ 1_ 

Book ...TIhT) -^ 



DEMOPOLIS, ALABAMA. 



A PAIMPHLET 

DESCRIPTIVE OF ITS LOCATION, 

TOGETHER WITH 

AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION 

OF ITS 

SURROUNDINOS. 

Its Social, Commercial, Educational and 
Agricultural Advantages. 



ISSUED UNDER THE AUSPICIES OF THE CITY 

COUNCIL. 




FROM THE PRESSES OF THE SELMA PRINTING CO. 

1887. 



NOTE 



rjlHIS little pJiamphlet is issued tineier the auspices of 
the City Council of D em op o lis. It has been sug- 
gested by the numerous inquiries which have been made 
concerning the resources of Alabama. 

Demopolis is a typical town of the famous ''Black 
Belt" of Alabama, and its inhabitants are prepared to 
make suggestions concerning the wonderful capabilities of 
the soils of this noted section. 

Care has been taken not to overdrazv the picture of the 
situation. We desire that when , visitors come, in response 
to the inducements prescJtted by this pamphlet, they may find 
things precisely as are Jierein stated. Believing that this 
has been done after a critical examination of the facts 

recorded, '^ 

We are, very respectfully, 

GEO. W. TAYLOR, 
M. MA YER, 
W. H. WELCH, 

Committee. 



DEMOPOLIS. 

^\EMOPOLIS IS located upon lofty bluffs which overlook 
the Tombigbee river vind the county of Sumter lying be- 
yond. It is situated at the junction of the Warrior with the 
Tombigbee and just above the great bridge of the E. T., V. & G. 
R. R. which spans the latter riven For more than a half century, 
it has been the commercial centre of as magnificent agricultural 
region as can be found in the South. It is situated at a point to 
command the trade from the fertile sections of the counties of 
Marengo, Hale, Greene and Sumter, and for many years has 
been the trading centre of the planters of that vast prairie region, 
known as the Canebrake country — the garden spot of the South. 

POPULATION. 

HE TOWN has a population of about two thousand. Ac- 
cessions have been repeated and valuable of late 
years, especially since the establishment of manufactories. Its 
commercial advantages are winning the attention of business 
men, and its numerous other advantages will attract many others 
still. The character of the residents is- largely cosmopolitan, 
and one. finds here, small as the population is, representatives 
of all nations. The foreign element is especially thrifty, the 
major portion having spent a quarter of a century or more in 
this, "The People's City," and won the friendship and esteem 
of their native fellow-citizens. 



DEMOFOLIS, ALA. 5 



CLIMATE. 



fHE CLIMATE is mild at all seasons. The atmosphere 
never reaches an extreme cold and but rarely attains to 
excessive heat. The morninjjjs and evenings, even in midsum- 
mer, are usually cool and breezy, and tlie nights refreshingly 
pleasant. Only the thinnest ice forms during winter, and one 
witnesses usually one light fall of snow during the entire cold 
season. Vernal heat is oftentimes felt as early as March, and 
the growing season prevails from- that time until November. 
The conditions are such as to favor a rotation of several crops m 
fields or gardens alike during the warm season. Flowers bloom, 
and fruits and vegetables ripen almost throughout the year. 

HEALTH. 

jaCS^^ITHOUT health there is no happiness. A location 
^^ may be otherwise never so inviting, and yet if devoid of 
healthfulness, its capacity to beget happiness is taken away. 
Demopolis reposes upon a high oluff of the Tombigbee, which 
sweeps past with a current so rapid as to forbid the accumulation 
of malarial elements. No stagnant lakes nor swampy lagoons 
prevail in any section adjacent to the town. The undulation of 
the surface favors the rapid conveyance of all waters into the 
river. This taken in connection witjj the sanitary reports of 
the town, demonstrates its healthfulness, the mortality for 
the past five years being so very slight as to make an actual 
statement almost incredible. During this period, there have 
been perhaps ten deaths of white adults due to local causes. Im- 
migrants from Europe and the North are especially delighted 
\vith this prominent feature of our town, and after many years 
residence continued invariably through all seasons, summer and 
winter, they are very pictures of health. 



DEMOPOLIS, ALA, 



EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES. 

XEVATED SOCIETY finds its noblest exponent in its 
schools and churches. Of the former, Demopolis has 
two — male and female. A good male school has all along been 
sustained in the town, in which boys and young men are fitted 
for the higher collegiate classes. But the pride of the town is 
its splendid institution for the education of girls and young 
ladies — The Marengo Female Institute. During the past year 
the college was revived under Prof. Legare, of South Carolina, 
but has, of late, received a new impulse by the election of Prof. 
G. F. Mellen as its president. No town of the same size can 
offer superior educational advantages. 

CHURCHES. 

SPHERE are five churches, representing the Methodist, Bap- 
tist, Presbyterian, Episcopal and Roman Catholic denom- 
nations. 

ARTESIAN WATER. 

©UPERIOR artesian wells to those of Demopolis cannot be 
found. Abounding in minerals and gushing forth in such 
immense volumes, these wells are capable of supplying every 
demand for water in the town. The artesian well in the Public 
Square is a place of freq,uent and easy resort, and adjacent to 
the tasteful pavilion which encloses the well, is a shady park 
penetrated by paths and overspread with a carpet of beautiful 
green grass. 

STREETS AND RESIDENCES. 

S^HE STREETS are broad and well graded and are bordered 
by shade trees that are rot only objects of attraction, but 
of great comfort. 



BEMOFOLIS, ALA. 7 

The residences are neat and cozy, and are usually embow- 
ered in groves of perpetual green, while the yards and grounds 
are carpeted with swards of grass. In the business portion of 
the town, the streets are lined with handsome and commodious 
houses of business of modern style of architecture. 

BANK. 

STHERE is in the town a safe and well established bank of 
twenty years' standing. It furnishes exchange, discount 
and deposit facilities for the town and surrounding country, 
readily handling the produce and large crops of cotton mark- 
eted here. 

INDUSTRIES. 

r'HERE are in the town a large cotton seed oil mill, a cotton 



compress, a wagon and buggy factory, two cotton ware- 
houses, two large livery acd sale stables and a brick manufactory, 
besides other local industries. 

STOCK RAISING. 

'HERE are several large stock farms in immediate proximity 



to the town, where the finer grades of cattle, such as the 
Jersey and Holstein breeds, are raised with profit. Mule raising 
also has, of late, been considerably entered into, and we have 
ab-eady many planters who raise mules to till their lands, and 
their number is constantly increasing. 

COTTON RECEIPTS. 

JjP^OCATED, as already mentioned, in the midst of a region 
^^^ of country unsurpassed in its fertility, and enjoying ad- 
vantages of transportation in all directions by means of the E. 
T., V & G. R. R. system and the Tombigbee and Warrior rivers, 
Demopolis is the focal point of market for a large area of territory. 



8 DEMOPOLIS, ALA. 



Its cotton receipts extend from 15,000 to 20,000 bales annually, 
and are steadily increasing. The bulk of this cotton is bought 
and shipped direct from this point to eastern spinners and for 
foreign export. 

LINES OF TRANSPORTATION. 

SpHE SEVERAL lines of transportation which converge at 
Demopolis deserve special emphasis. 

The Tombigbee river, which washes the base of its lofty 
bluffs, extends from eastern Mississippi, on the north, to the 
Gulf of Mexico. It is one of the great rivers of the South and 
drains one of the most splendid agricultural regions of the conti- 
nent. It was one of the earliest rivers plied by steam navigation, 
and for full halt a century has been an important highway of 
commerce. It furnishes deep water transportation to the gates 
of the Mexican Gulf. Winding its way through magnificent 
domains of agricultural land and superb forests of timber, it is 
destined to play a conspicuous part in the development of the 
resources of our favored Commonwealth. Inspired by a spirit 
of commendable enterprise, the business men of Demopolis 
have in contemplation a line of steamers to Mobile to be con- 
ducted in their own interest. 

The Warrior which empties into the Tombigbee just at the 
city of Demopolis, is navigable to Tuskaloosa in which county 
are found the thickest seams of coal yet discovered on the globe. 
Thus by means of this river, easy and cheap communication is 
furnished direct to the mineral districts of Alabama. The 
Warrior is destined in the future to be thronged wnth tugs and 
barges, laden with coal and iron, seeking their way to the seas 
of the South and thence to the world beyond. 

The E. T., Va. & G. R. R. system gives Demopolis rail 
communication with the large cities of the country in all direc- 



DEMOPOLIS, ALA. 



tions. Being situated on two navigable streams, running at 
right angles with the railroad, she has advantange over any other 
interior town in the State. 

There are, also, in operation telephone lines connecting this 
point with places in the interior tributary to the town. Thus 
will readily be seen the advantages Deraopolis offers as a man- 
ufacturing site, especially for cotton. 

SURROUNDING ADVANTAGES. 

,!WHE abundant advantages enjoyed by Demopolis as a com- 
mercial centre have already been touched upon. They are 
simply immense, by reason of its favorable location as a centre of 
commerce, and by reason of its cheap water transportation, 
enabling its merchants to pay the highest market price for 
cotton and all other produce. Extending in all directions from 
Demopolis, as a common centre and into the counties of Marengo, 
Sumter, Hale and Greene, are vast regions of canebrake lands on 
which cotton, corn, oats, barley and rice grow to perfection. 
Prior to the war, these lands commanded prices ranging from 
^50.00 to $75.00 per acre. To-day, they can be purchased for 
from $10.00 to ^25.00 per acre. In addition there are othcj- 
bodies of land — not classed with the canebrake — susceptible of 
high cultivation, ranging in price from $3.00 to ^10.00; timbered 
lands can be bought at from $2.00 to $5.00 per acre. 

Besides the cultivated districts of tillable lands, there are 
vast sections overspread with superior grass, such as Johnson 
and Bermuda grass. Lespideza or Japan clover grows luxuriantly 
from the opening of April until the frosts of November. 

The Mellilotus Alba, an exceedingly prolific and nutritious 
clover, attains to rank luxuriance upon the lime lands adjacent to 
Demopolis. This Mellilotus delights in overspreading the barest 
lime rocks with a vigorous growth and upon these rocks some 



10 DEMOFOLIS, ALA, 



times attains to the height of six feet. These various and abun- 
dant grasses suggest the ease with which stock raising may be 
pursued. 

Timbers embracing the different varieties of oak, hickory, 
black and sweet gum, hackberry, cedar, elm, walnut, pine, 
willow, poplar, beech and magnolia stock the forests, which 
are in close proximity to Demopolis. 

Thus the artisan, the grazier, the planter, the merchant, the 
manufacturer and the cabinet maker would find, as many have 
found, the conditions favorable to their respective vocations. 

PROJECTED RAILROADS. 

'N addition to the transportation facilities mentioned, there 
are now projected, the Chicago Air Line to the Gulf, and 
the Memphis & Pensacola railroads, both of which are said to be 
certain to pass near Demopolis. Persons desiring locations 
will do well to inspect the abundant advantages afforded by this 
particular section. 

Communications to the Mayor of the city, or to any 
member of the Council, asking for information, will be cheer- 
fully, and in their order, promptly replied to. 

T. G. CORNISH, 

Mayor. 
D. F. PROUT, 
G. G. LYON, 
JNO. PARR, 
M. ELY, 
J. F. GRIFFIN, 
M. MAYER, 
Councilmen City of Demopolis. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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